Shuttle feed stem head



May' 19, 192,5 1,533,432

J. 5, HIGGINS-r SHUTTLE FEED STEM HEAD g INVENTOR qo//fv a. wam/vsATTORNEY Patented. May' 19, 1925.

yUNITED STAT-Es PATENT l OFFICE;

JOHN JOSEPH HIGGINS, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW'JERSEY, .ASSIGNOR TO WESTINGi-HOUSE LAMP COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

SHUTTLE FEED STEM HEAD..

Application filed September 5, 1922. Serial No. 586,072.

To all who-my t may concern.'

lle it known that I, JOHN J osrlri-r HIGGINS, a citizen of the. UnitedStates, and a resident of East Orange, in the county of Essex and Stateof New Jersey, have invented av new and useful Improvement in ShuttleFeed Stem Heads, of. which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to the manufac-` ture of electric incandescentlamps and more particularly to apparatus for making lamp stems. y

An object ofthe invention is to provide a device in which the severalparts of a stem sembled.

Another object is to provide mechanism adapted to be adjusted tofacilitate the disposition of stem parts in a stem-making ma* chine. y

A further object is to provide mechanism which may be actuated by theoperator in such manner, as to reduce Ithe number of manual 4operationsheretofore necessary in z5 jthe assembly of stem parts. a

Stems for electric incandescent lamps include a plurality of work partswhich have been consolidated through the agency ofheat and pressure.These work parts include a flare tube, an arbor and two leading-in wiresand. in lamps of the tipless type, an ,additional part termed an exhausttube.

Machines for manufacturing lamp stems are well known in the art andusually com 35. prise` individually, a central hub suitablyf.

mounted on a base and provi-ded with arms terminating: in hubs in whichstem heads` are mounted rotatably.

. In the present invention, Uhwever, lthe4 40 stem heads are rigidlysecured 'at the ends of the arms, since it has been found advantageousto 'operate with non-rotating heads, thus avoiding' thcnecessity ofprovidingr means for permitting! the rotation of the heads whenpositioned for the assembly of work parts. Means are. however. providedfor effecting the intermittent rotation of the spider, the usualindexing' mechanism being employed to stop the conveyor temporarily atgiven stations ythroughout its path of movement.

During the quiescent periods of the conveyor. the stem parts areassembled in one of the heads, during which time heat is being may beconveniently and expeditiously asvapplied locallyto 'the assembled partsin other heads. Certain portions ofthe work are thus rendered plasticfora subsequent pressing operation which is performed by jaws suitablyprovided for this purpose. The several parts of the stem are thuspressed into consolidation.

During the constructionl of stems for lamps of the tipless type, acurrent of air is direc-ted down the exhaust tube while the lowerportion thereof is being heated for union with the other portions. Theair is under pressure and effects a puncture in-the wall of the tube forthe purpose of affording communication with the interior during theexhaust of the bulb withwhich the ster is incorporated.

`Most of the above described apparatus as, for instance, the conveyorand other cooper# ating .machine elements, are well known in the artand, therefore, are not illustrated. The outline given, howeve1`willafford a. more complete understanding of the present invention which,consists in an improved form of head for making lan-1p stems.

My improvement in stem-making machines consists in the provision of areciprocable member or shuttle which is disposed on the vertical axis ofthe head. The head may be of the usual type havingl an upper pair ofjaws for securing an exhaust tube and a lower pair of jaws for securinga flare tube, 4The Jaws are operable not``pnly to secure the work parts,but to eenterthem with respect to the axial line of the head.

` My improved work-holder or shuttle consists of a central spindle uponwhich is mounted a sleeve 4and cap slidable in a suitable bearing. Thecap is provided with a seat for a Hare tube and an aperture is providedwithin the shuttle for the reception of an arbor. Pockets are alsoprovided and `suitably located to receive the ends of leading-in wires.The shuttle is movable vertically within the head and may be thrustupwardly to such positionas would make it convenient for an operator toinsert the arbor, seat the flare tube and properly posi* tion theleading-in wires, after which the shuttle may automatically movedownwardly within the head until the Hare tube is positioned ina givenrelation to the lower pair of jaws, at which time these jaws may becaused to grip the Hare tube, and a .con-

improved support, an operator will havel free access to properly andexpeditiously dispose the work parts without the exercise of any unusualamount of caution to avoid projecting or heated parts of the stem head.

The invention will be more clearly understood by a reading of the'following description and reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich,-

Fig. 1 1s a view, in elevation, of a stem head, partly in section, andshowing the improved work-supporting shuttle;

' I4 ig. 2 is a side view ofthe parts shown in Fig. 1, a portion of thehead being brokenv away to more clearly illustrate other parts; Y 1 y 30Fig. 3 is an enlarged viewv of the upper portion of the shuttle, partlybroken away; y Fig. 4 is a. transverse sectionof the shuttha taken online IV-IV of Fig. 73;

FigiY 5 is a`- plan view of Fig. "1',"'showing 35- the upper jaws intheir open positions, the top` late being removed. 41g. 6 isl atransverse section of a head taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 1;' and,

Fig. 7 is a' detail sectional view of a modilied form of the upper endofthe shuttle constructed to receive and properly align an arbor havinga button. l v

The several work parts which are to be consolidate-d to form a stem areindicated inthe drawigindotted lines and comprise a lare'tube 10, arbor11, leading-in wires 12 and exhaust `tube 13. ln .the preferredembodiment of the invention,`an arbor is employed without a. buttonformed thereon, but the arbor may be provided-r with a button by lateroperations as, for instance,`

when applied to a. button-forming and support-wire-inserting machinesuch as that shown in the copendinv application of H. D Madden and J.,Jr iggins, Serial No.

556,957, tiled April 27, 1922, combined hutton making and insertingmachine. and assigned to the lVestinghouse VLamp C omany.

i It desirable, however, arbors 14,n having "buttons-already formedthereon may be employed, in which case, a modified form-of the worksupport may be used, an example of which is illustrated in Fig. i' ofthe draw- 05 ing and will be later more fully described.

The stein head to which my improvement is applied may comprise astandard 15 (Fig. 1) having a stud 16 integral therewith and adapted tobe secured by .a pin 17, in a hub 18 of an arm 19 which may be one of aplurality of arms of a conveyor; the

conveyor being moved intermittently in the usual manner to progress thehead from sta- `tion to station, in accordance with the 28 mounted in a.casing Aor jaw-guide 29 u which is secured to the upper en'd of thebearing m'embers 23iind 24. The spindle 26 is rotatable in the bearingmember 24 and may be actuated to operate a lower pair of flare-tubegripping jaws 1n a casing 30,

said jaws being similar to `the above tioned jaws 27 and 28.-

` -1 A more detailed description of the operation of these jaws andtheir functions., will be given later. .f Suitably positioned betweentheV upper ends of the supporting members 21farld 22 'and integraltherewith', is a bearing or guide -33 in which the work support'orshuttle 3a. which carries the stem parts may be slidably disposed. Thelower portion of the shuttle, which consists of a guide rod 35, extendsdownwardly and through an axiallydisposed aperture in the stud 16. Thus,the

`shuttle may be reciprooated verticall"y`1 within the head and upon thevertical axis thereof. The shuttle is held from rotation by a pin A31which extends through the upper portion of the stud 16 and engages alongitudinal slot 32 provided in the rod 35.

The shuttle 34 may comprise the aforementioned guide rod havingl asleeve 3G fastened adjacent the upper end thereof, over which is rmlysecured a. cap or thimble 37. The rod 35 extends above the thimble 37and is provided throughout the greater part of its length witha groove3S in which an adjustable stop member 39 is disposed. This member maynormally be secured in a given position by a set screw 41 and isadjusted, with respect to the upper end of the `groove 38, to provide a.space of a given length for the reception of the arbor 11.

An aperture for the retention of an arbor being thus povided, the lengththereof may be varied by an adjustment of the stop member 39 toaccommodate and properly position arbors of different lengths inaccordance with the type of lamp in which the stem is to be used.

For the proper disposition of the leadingin wires 12, the guide-rod 35is provided with additional longitudinal grooves 42 and 43 at oppositesides thereof, each of these grooves being spaced approximately 90 aboutthe axis of the guidefrod 35, from the groove 38. The grooves are ofshallow varykthe length ofl the apertures in which the leading-iii wiresare inserted, such apertures being commonly termed pockets. It will thusbe seen that various lengths of leading-in wires lmay be inserted andtheir relative position with respect to the arbor may be changed invaccordance with the construction of the particular type of lamp inwhich the stem is to be used. rlhe upper surface 48 of the cap 437 issuitably formed to constitute a seat for the end of a Hare tube 10, whenapplied to` the shuttle and disposed over the end of the guide rod Itwill thus be evident that the arbor, flare tube and leading-in wires maybe applied to the shuttle preparatory to their final relative positionswhen assembled for consolidation. The loading of the head with thesestem part-s is therefore greatly facilitated since the` shuttle -may bemoved to its upper position as shown in Fig. 1 and the several steinparts may be disposed thereon .and between the jaw 27 and 28 which areopen while the head is iii, the 4loading position.l During thedisposition of the stem parts,

' 'the shuttle is heldin itsupper position by reason 'ofthe engagementof its lowerend i9 with a cam surface 5l.

A spring 52 is disposed hetweenffafcollar 533 secured to the guide-rod35, and the lower endof the stiid-i16 and yserves to normally urge theshuttle@ downwardly to litslowevi' position. The` shuttle may bepermitted to fall by reason of its weight, if desired,A the spring,however, being provided to give a more positive action.

`VAs' the stein head is moved by the con- -veyou and the cam surface 51moves the tween the upper surface of the arms 56 and 57 and collars 61and 62 which are secured to the bearing members 23 and 24, respectively.v l

One end of the spring 58 is secured to the arm 56 and the other end issecured to the collar 61, thus, as the arm is moved, the spring isplaced under'tension and its recovery serves to close the jaws; thespring 59 is similarlyattached with a like resultant action since theupper and lower jaws, inountedin jaw-carriers 29 and 80, respectively,are similar. A description of the upper jaws and-'actuating mechanism asshown in F ig. will answer for both.

As the spindle is loscillated, a toothed segment member 63,` secu1ed at`the upper end of the spindle, is also oscillated. One side 64 of thesegment engages a rack 65 on an arm 66 `secured to the jaw 28 while theother side' 67 engages a rack 68 secured to the 27. The jaws areslidable in thc lcasing 29 between guides 7l and 72. It will thus beseen that a iiiovement'or oscillation of the cranks or arms 456 and 57will cause an opening and .closing of the jaws and that the cam surfaces5st' and 55 may be positioned to open the jaws and subsequently releasethem fo'rclosure through .the action of the springs 58 and 59.

'After the iare tube, arbor and leading-iii andthe head is moved withthe conveyor, the cam surface 51 permits theshuttle to drop when it4reaches a. predetermined position,to,bring the flare tubeto the desiredlocation, as indicated in Fig. 2, the arm 57 2*" is' perniittedvto moveby reason of the re ceding'` cam surface 55 and the lower jaws thuscloseupon and secure the Hare tube. The shuttle, however, continues to movedownwardly to its lowest position at which it is stopped by theengagement of a collar 78' secured to the guide-rod 35, .with ,the upperportion of the casting which is inte, gral with the stud 16. Theoperator, at

wires have been positioned on the shuttle the flare tube 10 in suchposition-that it either rests upon, or is positioned slightly above, theupper end of the arbor 11, the in sertion of the 'exhaust tube beingaccom; plished just as the cam surface recedes to permitthe closure ofthe jaws 27 and 28 the upper jaw carrier or `casing 29.' v

After the parts are properly assembled, the head is carried intoposition for the local heating of the parts by means of suitable tires7l which are indicated in dotted lines iii Fig. 2. A After the partshavebeen suit# ably heated, pressure is applied to the heated portion,for which purpose a pair of` press aws and 76 are-pivotally mounted onApins 77 and 78 that are suitably disesed in bearinvs on o) osite sidesof the standard 15. The jaws 75 and 76 are also provided with oifnsetportions or arms 81 and 82, respectively, which are connected thispoint, inserts the exhaust tubefl into :l-m,

by links 83 and 8-1 to push-rods 85 and 86 which, in turn, are securedtoa cross-head S7. The push-rods 85 and 86 are guided in bearings S8 and89, and the cross-head 87 is movable longitudinally of the stud 16. Areciprocation of the cross-head will, therefore, effect a transmissionof motion to the jaws and 7,6.

The jawsv are normally .maintained in open position by the expansiveaction of a spring 91 disposed between the cross-head and the lower sideof the hub 18 and may be actuated in theusual manner, as, for instance,b v the lever arm 92 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 which illustrates,-diagrammatically, a lifting member which may make contact with. the 'setscrew 93 of the crosshead 87l and lift `it in opposition to the spring91 for the purpose of closing the jaws 75 and 7 6 to press the heatedportion of the stem parts.

Where it is desirable to use an arbor having a button formed thereon,the upper end of the guide rod 35 may, as shown in Fig. 7 be providedwith a resilient member 94 which maymake contact at one side of thearbor and hold it firmlykagainst aboss. or

enlarged portion 95 of the guide to maintain the axial line of the arborand that of av guide-rod 35 in coincidence.

In operation, the head moves with the conveyor toward an operator atwhich time the shuttle is raised to the loading position, and the ca msurfacesili and' 55 actuate the lever farms 56 and 57 to open both theupper and the lower pairs of jaws.- The operator then has free access tothe upper end of the shuttle and inserts an arbor 11 into the apertureprovided. A flare tube is then placed over the upper end of theguide-rod and seated on the surface 4S ofthe cap 37, and leading-inwires are properly positioned by insertion into their respective'pockets. The

head is then permitted to move in its path with the conveyor and, as thehead advances, the shuttle drops, carrying the positioned stem parts.

Before the parts reach the lower position of the shuttle, however, thelower pairs of jaws carried in the aw-carrier 30 close upon -the Haretube land secure it. At 'the same time, the shuttle continues itsdownward` movement until it reaches its lowest position which brings theupper end of the arbor 11 in proper relation to the lower end oftheflare tube. During this movement, the head has not advanced suiiicientlyto be out of reach, and the operator inserts an exhaust tube which issubsequently gripped by the upper jaws carried in the jaw-carrier 29 andmaintained in proper relation to the ar` bor and the flare tube. Thehead may be then advanced to the position at which the fires 74 renderthe portions of the flare tube, arbor and exhaust tube suitably plastic,at

Viteaeaa which time the head is in operative relation to any suitablemechanism, such as the lever 92, which may make contact with the setscrew 93, thus moving the cross-head upwardly and causing the jaws 75and 76 to` ycompress and consolidate the .glass-stem -it is not a partof the present invention, has

not been illustrated.

The head may then be advanced until it again reaches fa'positionconvenient to an operator, at which time the jaws automatically open andthe shuttle moves upwardly to bring the stem in position for convenientremoval and to permit of rapid and easy reloading.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that other modifications may be madetherein without departing from the spirit andv scope of the appendedclaims.

' What is claimed is:

1.' A stem head comprising a reciprocable member, means carried by saidmember for supporting stem parts and means for moving said member to aposition for the convenient positioning of said parts.

2. A stem head comprising a movable 'member axially disposed within saidhead,

a work-part support carried by said member and means for moving'saidmember axially of said head to locate said support in a positionconvenient for the disposition of said -part on said support.

ice

3. A stem head comprising amember sli'dably associated with .said head,lamp part supporting means carried by said member and means for movingsaid member to position said supporting means for the convenientpositioning of lamp parts thereon.

4. A stem head comprising a reciprocable member axially disposed withinthe head, means carried by said member for supporting a plurality oflamp parts and means for moving said member to change the relativepositions of said member having lamp parts supported thereon and saidhead.

5. A stem head comprising` a slidable member, a seat carried by said*member to' receive a flare tube, an aperture in said member to receivean arbor and means for moving said member to position to facili- Vtatethe positioning of said tube and arbor actuating said shuttle to-iposition the same for the disposition of said' stem parts thereon.

,7. A stem head comprising 'ashuttle, said.,A shuttle having a seat foraflare tube, au

aperture for an arbor and pockets for leading-iii Wires, and means for:moving said .shuttle to a given position with respect to' saidA head for'the convenient disposition of 'bly of the said arbor and flare tube.

9. A stem head comprising a sliiittle'riiov-4 yable in said head, meanscarried by said shuttle for supporting a `flare tube and an said-tube,arbor and Wires.

8. A stem head having means for 'supporting an exhaust tube, a shuttlemovablydisposed in said head for carrying an arbor and flare tube, andmeans for .moving the shuttle to position forthe convenient assemarbor,means `for gripping said fiare tube and means formoving said, shuttle toposi.-l

given relation tion an end of said arbor in a to an end of said flaretube. 10. A stem head comprising a shuttle movable in said head, meanscarried by said shuttle for supporting a fiare tube and an arbor, meansfor grippirg said Hare tube and ineans'fornioving said shuttle topositionaii end of said arbor ina given relation y to an en df saidflare tube, and means for supporting `an exhaust tube ina given relationto said arbor.

11. A stein head having a pair offtube? gripping jaws, a shuttleassociated there- `with, said shuttle having a seat for a flare f tube,and an aperture for vanarbor and means for actuating said shuttle ltoposition said tube for eng'agement with, said jaws and means `toroperating said jaws to engage said tube. l

12. -A stem head having a shuttle for carrying several parts of 'a stem,said shuttlev having'asso'ciated therewith a seat for sup-- porting aflare tube, an aperture `to' receivev .an arbor, and pocketsior thereception of leading-in Wires, means forrnoving saidshuttle vin'onedirection for the positioningofsaid'flare, arborand wires, -means formoving the shuttle in an opposite direction to a given position, meansfor gripping said flare, means .for continuingtlie movement of saidshuttleto effect theremoval of said flare' from said seat to positionone end of said flare in a said arbor.

given relation to an end of i 13. vA stem head having a shuttle forcari'yiiigseveral parts of a stem, said Shuttle Y liavingassociatedtherewith a. seat for supporting `a flare tube, an aperture to receivelanvarbor, and pockets for the reception of leading-in Wires, means formoving said shuttle in one direction for the disposition of said Bare,arbor and'wires, means for moving the lshuttle in an oppositedirectionto a givenposition, means for gripping said flare,- meansfoifcoiitiniiing the movement ofsaid shuttle to effect the removal ofsaid lare'fr'om said seat to osition one end Cf said flare in agivenreation to an end of said arbor, and meansfor supporting an exhaust tubein a flare and arbor.-

14. A stem head comprising areciprocable member adapted' to support aplural-- means for releasing said parts.

ity of lamp parts, means for moving said member to position saidpartsvin a given relation, means for gripping said parts to maintain them indesired relative positions,

given relation to said memberto position the said parts in givenlrelation to each other, means for gripping and holding the parts forconsolidation and 16'; A stein Vhead comprising a recipioj `cablememberadapted to support a pluralmeans for rendering plastic a portionof plastic portion to consolidate said parts'.

17. A ste'm head comprising a reciprocable member adapted to support aplurality of .lamp parts, means for moving said said parts and means forcompressing said member to position said parts in a given relation,means for gripping said parts to maintain them in desired relativepositions,V

means for rendering plastic a portion of said parts, means -forlcompressing said plastic portionv toconsolidate said partsfand meansfory releasing said parts 'after consolidation.

In 'testimony ivhereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this firstday of September, 1922.

JoHN JOSEPH HIGGINS.

